


Apparitions

by Ausp_ice



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, Roleplay, for a DST super AU, this is an RP log with a bunch of other people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 19:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19257955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ausp_ice/pseuds/Ausp_ice
Summary: The "Empowered" have been growing in numbers since the first appearance of them, many years ago. Not too long ago, a group of heroes took down the mysterious villain known as Maxwell - one who seemed to be attempting to "convert" heroes to darkness. But that is another story.Wren Curtis is a competent surgeon by day, but by night, they are Incisura, the blood-manipulating Empowered that has recently been seen lurking at the scenes of superpowered confrontations.Wenzel Isaac is a nervous fellow with abilities of luck manipulation and precognition he doesn't know what to do with.The meeting of these two was only the beginning of the revelation of an unfathomable darkness beyond their own dimension.





	1. Scene 1: First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Apparitions is an ongoing group RP in the DST Superpowers AU I'm doing with a bunch of friends from Tumblr. I thought I'd post it here.  
> Though I've never posted anything here. Aheh. Scary. Maybe I'll write actual fanfic one day.
> 
> Wren/Incisura is mine: https://ausp-ice.tumblr.com/post/184829679213/
> 
> Wenzel/Raffle: https://the-valiant-valkyrie.tumblr.com/  
> Ref: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/478364778151280651/575827501780303872/unknown.png
> 
> Two others joined in later:  
> Robert L. Wagstaff (not the canon one): https://tinkering-survivor.tumblr.com/post/161707671883/  
> Waylyn/Switcheroo: https://the-unluckiest-black-cat.tumblr.com/  
> Ref: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/478364778151280651/577109840673898506/switcheroo.png

 

Incisura stood balanced on the edge of a building, breathing in the cold night air. Their gaze was fixed on a point in the distance.

A point at which the flashes of clashing powers disturbed the night - yet another conflict between the heroes and villains.

 

It would be hard not to notice. Little fits and fights like this were always rather... Loud. Bright, and colorful- it would be quite the interesting display if it wasn't a hazard to any bystanders.

 

They leapt from the edge, dark tendrils extending from their body to break their landing in a dark alleyway.

 

A shame something so hazardous was... Such a beacon to curious sorts... It screamed danger, yet how could one help but examine it...

 

Incisura started, looking to and fro. They weren't alone here. Someone else was this close to the battle? Not running like many others would, as well.

 

The wind blew through Raffle's hair as he sat on the roof, eyeing down the chaos a little below him... He _really_ shouldn't have been here... Hell'd be unearthed if anyone knew... But he simply couldn't quite help his young curiosity.

 

Incisura looked up at building near the one they just left, squinting to see a vague shape on the roof.

Curious.

Dark tendrils extended from them again, and they scaled the building of the onlooker.

 

He didn't quite seem to notice right away, far too busy with trying to find the best angle to examine the chaos unfurl down below

 

They reached the roof, silently approaching the person, but stopping a few feet away. "What are you doing here?" Their voice cut through the air like a blade, clear despite the noise of the battle.

 

It startled him. Clearly. He jumped in surprise, twisting in an instant, automatically tossing his hood over his head, which did only little good in concealing his face. The kid couldn't have been any older than nineteen or so.

 

Icy eyes peered at him from behind a gleaming white mask. The contrasting black and white of their cloak flowed in the breeze as they tilted their head.

"You seem rather young. A hero in the making? A villain finding a purpose? Though I must say, that, well, hmm. Your... costume isn't doing much to conceal your identity."

 

"It's fine..." He muttered under his breath, only pulling it up further without quite realizing his doing so,

 

"Neither of us should be here, anyways- but you're not really hiding yourself, either."

 

They seemed to look a little sheepish. "Well. My face isn't revealed, at least. Though the 'flashiness'... It's a worthy sacrifice for style. I just can't help myself."

They approached the edge of the roof near him, acting as though their conversation partner did not look as though he was about to bolt.

They looked once more to the battle. "Regardless. Should, should not. All subjective. Everything people do is for a reason, one way or another. I am simply here to watch. And perhaps lend a hand, if that time comes."

 

He glanced as they moved, silently tracking their movements as he wondered what to make of the stranger. He hadn't met one willing to stay so close to a battle without being a part of it before. Wenzel wasn't sure what to make of it,

 

"... Well, that makes two of us, then... I guess..."

 

Their eyes flicked to him, curiosity sparking within their eyes. "Oh? Interesting."

They turned to face him, extending a hand. It seemed to be covered in some sort of black material, with claws attached to the tip of their fingers. "Call me Incisura. I suspect we'll see more of each other in the future."

 

He stared at the extended hand a moment, scrutinizing it as though as soon as he went to touch it the thing would lunge out and bite him. It took a while for Wenzel to deem it apparently safe, shaking it with the same hesitation,

 

"... Raffle..."

 

As they pulled their hand back, a powerful explosion shook the building.

A mild screaming grew in volume until one of the participants in the battle crashed on their roof, cracks spiderwebbing from her form. She rolled over, spotting the two _clearly-not-suspicious_ people on the roof.

"Ah." Incisura froze. "It seems we're about to become involved."

 

Wenzel was paralyzed- glued to the spot. He should get out of there. He should _really_ get out of there. If he got tangled up in some superhero mess, and Mr Robert found out he couldn't _imagine_ how chewed out his ear would be by the end of it.

 

But he couldn't move. He'd never been so close before. Wenzel hadn't a plan for if something like this were to happen.

 

He glanced up at the stranger, and then down to the super on the ground.

 

A wind rushed past them as another one joined them on the roof, ice crackling from her hands as she landed before the one from before.

"It's the end. You can't escape-"

It was then that she noticed the Incisura and Raffle, who still haven't moved from the edge.

 

The unknown hero used this beat to their advantage, pushing themselves from the ground and attempting a charge. The faster one could get the confrontation from off the roof, the safer the bystanders would be.

 

The villain laughed and froze the floor of the roof, attempting to freeze everything on its surface.

Incisura at last moved, leaping from the floor to hang from the building's water tower.

 

They were frozen to the spot almost instantly- and so was Wenzel for that matter, who hadn’t the sense in that head of his to move in time. Her eyes flickered to her weapon a few feet away, and the bystanders a few feet away on her other side, finally landing on her foe... This would have been much easier without any interference

 

"Oh, you make this too, too easy."

In a flash, they stood behind Raffle, hovering a hand over his chest.

"I can end his life in an instant. Just one blade, cleanly through the middle. Surrender, Saber, and perhaps I'll let _both_ of you live."

Incisura, hand frozen to the tower, gripped the cold metal tightly. Should they make their move now...?

 

He couldn’t breathe. Could barely move. His pulse drummed astronomically loud in his throat, and his body felt cold (for reasons other than the fact there was ice covering the floor, and his feet were frozen to the spot). His eyes flickered to get the faintest glimpse of who would probably be his murderer. Oh, jeez, if Mr Robert found him dead in the papers, he’d be _pissed_.

 

“Cut the act. We both know that boy’s worthless to me. Do you know him? Should I? Go ahead and waste the energy, see where it gets you...”

 

A grin like gash spread across her face. "Do you really think that? The PR will be terrible. The name of Winter will be across the headlines, and so will yours! But, if you say so..." the cold gathered in her hands, frost crackling ominously.

 

The sound of shattering breached the air, a dark red tendril rushing to push Raffle out of the way just as the icicle burst into existence-

 

He gasped in relief- or tried to, in between fumbling to the ground. It was long enough a pause for Saber to worm her feet in the icy turf, breaking herself lose and automatically leaping a few feet away, back into a prepared stance.

 

Raffle was shaking like a leaf.

 

Winter hissed, irritated at the interference. Incisura stood between them all, red globules of liquid floating around them ominously.

"That's quite enough, isn't it?" They pulled down the cloth covering the bottom half of their face, just as the liquid sharpened and shot towards both Winter and Saber, aiming to draw just the smallest bit of blood...

 

The redhead eyed the things with something along the lines of intrigue, but dashed out of their line of range, before it found any place to strike. No chance she was going to let yet another person strike her when she was already in her own battle.

 

The strike at Winter proved true, however, piercing Winter's shoulder. It quickly retracted.

Incisura narrowed their eyes. Well, one should be enough. They lifted their hand to 'carry' the droplet to their mouth, concealing their consumption of the blood.

Winter instantly gasped, coughing out blood and dropping to the ground, clutching her chest. Incisura turned to Saber. "She'll live. Perhaps."

They approached Raffle, still trembling on the ground. "Raffle? Raffle, were you hit?" They spoke under their breath.

 

Saber glanced, almost concerned at the state of the villain before her, but wasted no time retrieving her spear and taking it to her adversary, willing to grasp for any semblance of an upper hand.

 

Raffle was still shaking, a hand reaching to touch to his shoulder, feeling the warmth of blood finally starting to thaw the... Chill of the wound,

 

" _It hurts_ ..." He muttered gently, at too much of a loss for anything better to say, " _It hurts_..."

 

"Ah, shoots." They threw a quick glance over their shoulder, before looking back at Raffle and gently applying pressure to the wound.

"I can help you. Do you trust me? I know we've only met, but... yours is not a life that should be lost, I feel."

 

" _Please if you can help then do it-_ " He gritted, quickly, " _I think there's something still stuck in there- I can't move it-_ "

 

"Very well," they whispered, before running their bloodstained hand across their tongue.

The blood around them seemed to peel off the ground, and the bleeding slowed.

"Sorry about this. I can't have anyone nearby while I'm.... ...."

They used their tendrils to lift Raffle and leap into the darkness to find a hiding place, careful not to jostle the wound but unavoidably doing so.

 

He didn't seem to notice much aside from getting picked up. He winced every so often when he was carried around a little too carelessly, one hand gripping to his wound. Goodness, how was he gonna explain this one, then.

 

They eventually found a rooftop concealed in shadows, and Incisura put him down as gently as they could.

"Now, hold still." They closed their eyes, and reached for the energy of his blood, using it to slowly dislodge the ice within and reconstruct his wound. The sounds of the world dropped away, all of their mind focused on the boy before them.

 

He continued to pant every so often, wincing on occasion, but didn't dare move. He hadn't a clue what this stranger was doing, but didn't doubt that any twitch might cause some serious complications. Wasn't that always the case with magic.

 

A limb formed from blood seemed to extract the remaining ice, and before long, all the remained of the wound was a faint scar with a faint ache - all the blood gathered and returned to his body.

They let out a heavy breath, slipping to their knees before him.

 

"W... Wow..." Raffle tenatively tapped where the wound was a couple of times, "That's pretty neat, str-" His delayed sense of perceptiveness finally kicked in, and he stared as Incisura simply... Went down like that.

 

"You alright? Oh god- don't... Like, die, or anything-"

 

A long moment passed before they answered. "I'm..... fine. It's difficult to reconstruct wounds. Easier to inflict them or prevent them from getting worse. And I haven't... really done it in a while." They laughed a little breathlessly, waving a hand haphazardly. "I'm sure someone your age has somewhere to go, don't you? I'll be fiiiine." Their speech seemed a little slurred, and their eyelids were drooping, as if they were about to fall unconscious on the spot.

 

"You... You sure...?" He did have places to be, it was true... Though it also seemed the stranger was in no condition to be left there,

 

"You... You'd be fine there on the floor if I just went...?"

 

"Absoluuuutely. Let me just. Lie down. For a moment." They proceeded to plonk onto the cold stone.

 

He stared at them.

 

"I... I don't think you're alright... But I also really have to go, so..." He gave an uncomfortable thumbs up, "Thank you, for that... That was real neat of you to save my life like that-"

 

"..."

They stared at the sky. "I did what I felt was right. That's the only thing you can be sure of, in a world like this. And... I think we'll see each other again. Some company on lonely evenings is... nice..." They closed their eyes.

 

He stared at them for a little while, debating whether or not to move... Their eyes were closed, though even so the pale hue that radiated off of him was rather bright, even through the barrier of one's eyelids. A little luck could only do the fellow so good.

 

He didn’t stick around afterward, disappearing into the early eve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm having a lot of fun in this AU, and I've got a ~vague~ idea of a canon cast story that occurred before this one. But motivation is meh, so. We have this RP.


	2. [Character Profiles - Incisura and Raffle]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character Profiles for Incisura and Raffle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this may be useful.

****

**Alias** : Incisura  
**Secret Identity** : Wren Curtis  
**Creator** : Auspice ([@ausp-ice](https://ausp-ice.tumblr.com/)/[@ausp-icium](https://ausp-icium.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr)  
**Gender:** Agender  
**Age:** 26  
**Alignment** : True Neutral

 **Powers** : Blood manipulation, physical and biological. By ingesting another individual's blood, they become able to manipulate that person's blood. They can use blood to form blades and other implements. Discovered powers when they were 10 but they hid it well.  
**Strengths** : Unfazed by many things that could affect others, very practical, excellent at stealth, can end a fight by ingesting only a bit of blood, skilled surgeon, knowledgeable about human physiology  
**Weakness** : Energy and phase changes, physically frail, limited blood  
**Years of Activity** : Only started appearing as Incisura 1-2 years ago, but helped people before then

 **Bio** : As Wren, they are a competent surgeon, operating on patients deemed to be lost causes. They secretly use their abilities to improve outcomes. But as Incisura, they wander. They watch. They help those they think are worth helping - hero, villain, civilian, anything.

 

* * *

 

**Alias** :Raffle

 ** ~~Secret~~ ** **Exposed Identity** : Wenzel Isaac  
**Creator** : Sav ([@the-valiant-valkyrie](https://the-valiant-valkyrie.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr)  
**Gender:** Male  
**Age:** 19  
**Alignment** : Lawful good  
**Powers** : Manipulation of luck, precognition  
**Years of Activity** : None, currently

 **Bio/BG** : Take everything from his young past and apply it to him now. Fire burnt his house down, killed his family, and he was taken temporarily into asylum before they found a better spot for him to be. Though, it was a real shady place to be. And they did some pretty shady things to the kid. When he was retrieved a year later to be introduced into a foster program, he was quite a different little guy. Nervous, quiet, non-talkative; keeping what powers had since been forcefully engraved into his brain a secret from everyone, lest they send him back, or do anything worse. One day his foster family simply... Couldn't find him. He was gone- just packed up, and left; no one really knows where as of yet.


	3. Scene 2: Revelations

 

It was some time before they crossed paths again. Incisura had awoken alone a few hours later, only slightly cold despite napping on the cold roof. They had returned home, taking the following few days off to recover, only to discover that they felt fine after just one day.

Curious.

A week later, they once again stood upon the roof of a building. No big fights tonight as of yet, but they made it a habit to wander the city every now and then.

It was an absolute miracle Wenzel wasn’t caught after the slip up... He wasn’t quite sure how he managed it- especially when giving his luck away. If he was caught, he probably wouldn’t have been able to get out of the house; nor would he have been able to waltz himself down to the corner store and pick up the sandwich he currently held. He meandered without much of a care, eating, tapping idly on his phone... Couldn’t quite sense anything as of yet.

Looking down at the street, Incisura spotted someone remarkably familiar.  
"...hm. I did say that his costume didn't do much to conceal his identity." They muttered. "Then again, I can't exactly wander the streets like this..."  
Luckily (hmm), the building they were on was stocked with various coats, scarves, and hats. They were out of season... They'll put it back later...........  
A few minutes later found them on the street, mask and cloak stashed somewhere for a coat and hat instead.

Wenzel didn’t quite notice them at first, what with his tip-typing on the phone, and his jaw going back for more of that sandwich (turkey swiss on rye, lightly toasted, added salt and bacon crumbs, for the crunch, of course), but eventually he blinked, tilting his head up. Curiosity overtook his expression, and he looked around a moment, as if someone had called his name.

"Greetings." A voice popped up right behind him, remarkably familiar.

He jumped, again, clutching tightly to his sandwich as he wheeled around. His head tilted in confusion at the stranger,

“Uh... Hey, there...”

They smiled lightly. Most of their face was cast in shadow, and the collar of their coat was pulled up high, but their icy eyes were still quite visible.   
"It's been a week, but it is good to see you again... Raffle." The last word was uttered quietly enough that no bystanders would hear.

His eyes first flickered with fear, before realization slowly melted in its replacement. He looked left and right for a moment, as if to ensure no one had heard the cryptic greeting, before falling pack into pace again,

“Good to see you’re doing well after last time...”

They laughed lightly, as they continued walking with Raffle on the path he was on before. "Remarkably so. The fortunes seemed ever in my favor this week. Usually I'm lethargic for a few days, but I was fine after one! Among other happenings. It was very curious.  
But how have you been doing? I've wanted to check in on my pati- on how your injury has healed. Has it bothered you at all?" Ah, calling them patients was such a force of habit.

“Oh, yes, It’s healed quite well, in fact...” He wiggled his shoulder just as proof, “You could barely tell I ever wrecked it in the first place. Sometimes it stings a little, but considering the circumstance, it’s pretty cool. I guess we’ve both been pretty lucky as of late, then, huh?”

"Ah, excellent! I'm glad." They glanced at Raffle. "Did you... hm." They lowered their voice. "Did you have anything to do with that? The... luck."

He chucked, giving a light nod as he took another large bite of his lunch, chewing for a while before granting a response,

“Uh huh. Pretty neat, huh?”

"It is indeed fascinating!" They put a hand on their chin. "Does it have limits? Can you give endlessly? Is it only good luck or also bad luck? Does it tire you out or-"

“Well-“ Yet another bite of his sandwich, “It’s weird...” He let his voice fade to a gentle whisper, “I can exchange it... Good luck for one person, bad luck for another. Can’t have one without the other. Depending on how intense the luck is affects how much it tuckers me out... Comes in handy in a scrape, or something.”

Incisura nods. "Mmmmm yes, yes, I see- wait." They squint at him. "Did you give me your luck?"

“For a little while, yes.”

"It did not affect you too badly, did it?" They were disturbed by the thought of inconveniencing another.

“Oh, no. I didn’t take enough for anything bad to happen to me. And besides, you pulled ice from my shoulder- it was the least I could do.”

"Ah... Thank you, then." They bowed their head.

“It’s no problem at all.” He gave a faint smile, glancing to his phone for a moment as it buzzed gently, but seemingly whatever he was told wasn’t too important.

"Ah. I'm not keeping you, am I?" Their steps slowed at the end of a building, streetlights casting the nearby alley in darkness.

“Oh, no, it’s just my...” He mulled over the right word for a moment, “It’s nothing, just an update from family. I’ve all the time in the world, granted that time lasts until...” He checked his phone again a moment,

“Two.”

Incisura opened their mouth to respond, but at that moment, a scream echoed from the alley. They jerked, head snapping towards the shadows.

Wenzel had flinched a second before the sound anyways, but the noise in itself forced a wince from the boy. His head turned immediately to the source, fingers twitching in indecisiveness.

They looked back at Raffle, noticing his wince. "I will investigate. Stay here, if you wish. Follow, if you wish for that instead." They stepped towards the alley.

There was no hesitation as Raffle tailed along behind. There was no way he could possibly... Leave the trace of danger there when he could do something about it. Especially if he had company, which could also do something about it- meaning in total they could do about twice as much _thing_ about it.

A thud echoed from further in. Incisura exchanged a look with Raffle and ran towards the sound - until they came across someone standing over a body, bloodstained knife in hand.

" _Oh crap_ -!" It was barely a whisper under his breath. Raffle was far more used to supersized predicaments. This person was... Stabbed! Just clean through assaulted! Were they even still alive?!

The person with the knife seemed to panic, holding the knife towards them. "S-stay back! I'm, I'm not afraid to use this!"  
Incisura tilted their head to the side slightly. What to do... They supposed they _should_ help the one bleeding out on the ground, but they didn't particularly want to use their powers in front of some petty criminal, _and_ while all they were wearing was a hat to conceal their face...

Wenzel didn't quite seem to think that through too much. In an instant, the poor soul on the ground was glowing a faint pale hue, and the sod with the knife a red one. Another red glow came from underneath the bangs of his hair, though he carefully pulled up his hood as to not so easily reveal this,

"Just drop the knife. Drop it."

He tried to make his voice a little deeper than it was.

"W-what's happening? What are you doing?" He frantically glanced at himself and the poor sod. He gripped the knife tightly. If he could knife both of them and run, maybe he could get away...

" _I said put it down!_ " He pulled his phone from his pocket, waving it as if it were a detonator to a bomb, "I can call the police!"

"Th-th-then I'll just be gone by then!" He ran towards them - making the mistake of aiming at Incisura, who caught the knife in their bare hands.   
"Hmm..." They frowned, watching their blood drip. The man's eyes widened, but he couldn't seem to pull it out of their grip.

Feverishly, Raffle had opened his phone, scrambling to type the numbers in. He only paused when his screen went black, eyeing his friend sheepishly,

"My, uh... My p... My phone's dead-"

Incisura sent him a Look.  
They sighed.  
"You have to remember to charge your phone every day. You know, so you can call someone when people are getting knifed in back alleys? Well," they gave a half shrug, reaching into their pocket. "Use mine. You can call the police without unlocking it, while I'm dealing with... this." They tossed it towards Raffle.

He grabbed it, hastily dialing, cupping his mouth to the phone so one couldn't hear exactly what it was he was saying. Even though the criminal was apprehended, his hands still shook like a leaf. Just so long as he kept all his luck focused on that one guy.

In the meantime, Incisura had jabbed the guy in the eyes and knocked him out while he was screeching. They looked at the person bleeding out on the ground, then at the bloody knife, and stuck the knife in their mouth.

Raffle eventually turned around after a while, looking first at the man at the ground, and then at the knife, half stuck in Incisura's mouth,

"That's... Thats weird, but you just... You do what you have to-"

They popped the knife out of their mouth, shrugging. "Hey, I can only help them if I've ingested their blood." They looked towards the person. "I've stopped the bleeding, and removed the contaminants from their blood. Once help arrives, they'll be fine." They looked back at the knife. "... Maybe I should hold on to this. Now that it... kinda... has my spit all over it........"

"You probably should..." He replied, inhaling deeply and stopping the glow, letting the alleyway fade into darkness yet again,

"Gosh, I hope they'll be alright... A stabbing's never good..."

"Worry not! It's only a _light_ stabbing."   
Before long, an ambulance and police car pulled up to the scene.   
Incisura jerked, cursing under their breath. "Fudge nickels. I did not think this through."  
One of the paramedics ran up to them. "Wren? What are you doing here?"

Raffle castes a glance between the paramedic and his ally, blinking in confusion,

"Wren?"

Wren tsked. Well, it's probably fine. They took off their hat, revealing their face. "Yes, I'm here, someone got knifed, the criminal is there, the knife is gone forever, that person's stabbed and you might want to help them."

Raffle nodded a couple of times, stepping back and gesturing to the previously knifed man on the ground,

"Please help them- it looked pretty bad..."

The paramedic nodded, and approached the prone man. Wren sighed a little, gradually releasing their hold on his blood. It wouldn't do for that to be revealed as well.  
"Who's he-" The paramedic asked, as he tended to the victim.   
"Just a friend." Wren said curtly.

"Hello..." He waved, sheepishly, "I... I was the one who called..."

"Well, it's good you did. It's a deep wound." The paramedic's hands glowed golden for a moment. "That should be enough to stabilize him. Unfortunately, I can't do much."  
The paramedic called others over to help put the victim on a stretcher, carrying him to the ambulance as the police detained the assailant.   
"I'm surprised, though. You never talk about having any friends while at the hospital."  
Wren sighed. "Go do your thing. Can we leave now?"  
The officer seemed to protest for a moment, but they cut him off. "We're going, contact me if you _must_. You have my number. But, places to go, things to do."  
With that, they grabbed Raffle by the shoulder and waltzed out of the alley.

He winced slightly at the contact to where such a serious wound would have been, even despite the fact that it had more or less healed, but Raffle took the hint, waking at their side as they exited the alley way,

"... Who was that...?" He questioned after a while, glancing behind him

Wren hmm'd. "She's Aria, someone from work. At my... day job. She has the power to slow the progression of wounds for a bit."

"Oh, that sounds quite helpful..." He noted, casually, before trailing off for a little while,

"Wren's your name?"

Wren paused for a moment, contemplative.  
"I suppose it's time I properly introduced myself." He seemed like someone they could trust with the info, somehow.  
They lifted their hand to their chest, bowing slightly.   
"Wren Curtis, surgeon of the Aeon Hospital - at your service."  
Raffle almost automatically jolted back, as if Wren were as hot as white coals,

" _Surgeon?_ Like.... Doctor, snippy snippy, surgery surgeon?"

Wren raised an eyebrow. That was quite the reaction.

"Yes... They call me in to operate on those deemed to be lost causes. Not that they'd know, but I occasionally... use my abilities to my advantage."

"I... Mmn..." He hummed, quietly, rocking back and forth on his heels, before finally granting them a sheepish nod,

"That... That's pretty neat, I guess... I'm, uh... Wenzel... Just Wenzel."

"Nice to truly meet you, Wenzel." They gave a light smile.

A long moment passed, before they spoke up again. "Do... do doctors make you uncomfortable?"

"Well... Maybe a little... But that's a long story..." He shrugged, a stray hand scratching the side of his head

"Ah. My apologies. I do not mean to pry..."   
Wren brought a hand to their chin, before pulling out a business card from who-knows-where.   
"My number. I thought that perhaps I should get out of your hair for tonight. The hour is late."

The boy blinked, surprise and intrigue lining his features at the little trick, carefully accepting the card. He scrutinized it for a second or two, before tucking it in his pocket,

"Oh, thanks... If you'd best be off, I better not hold you."

"Indeed. May we meet again. Now, I've got a coat and hat to return!"

He took a glance at the clothing, but figured he better not comment on it anymore than they already had, taking back off into the security of the streets.

Wren promptly returned the coat and hat back to precisely where they found it, donning their mask and cloak once more before returning to their ~~lair~~ home.


	4. Scene 3 / Interlude 1: Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things lurk in the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wagstaff is RP'd by me.  
> Huntress (a version of Triumphant Wigfrid) is RP'd by Sav.

Saber’s footsteps would have been invisible against the floor, were it not for a fact the room she was in was rather large. Echoes traveled loudly and effortlessly.

That, and she was running with quite a bit of haste,

“Sir, I’ve returned, just like I said... With just what you asked for.”

A unkempt crown of hair was silhouetted against a screen crackling with static. He spun around in one jerky motion, large glasses reflecting the glare of the light.   
"Hohohoho! Excellent, Saber! You have served me well. Give them to me!"

She nodded, carefully handing over a large satchel. In it were plenty of fragile jars, supported with some styrofoam-esque substance to keep them from cracking,

“I do believe it should be plenty to begin working with, sir...”

He giggled excitedly. "I can't wait! Let us go the lab!" He snatched the satchel and bounded over to an elevator, which pinged as it began to activate.

She bounced contentedly behind him, seemingly gleeful at his own gleefulness,

“Did you see the news, sir? Did you see the news? The sudden extermination of that Winter fellow made it there- did you see?”

"Yes, yes I did! I expected her to last a little longer, but you do have her here, yes? Who else have we here?" He was peering curiously at the jars in the satchel, magnified eyes flicking to and fro.

“Oh many; many many.” She nodded, delightfully, “Many folks there- a couple quite well known, and a few not so. I tried to take as many I could which displayed any signs of power or talent, sir.”

Wagstaff lifted the ones dated only a few weeks ago. "These are from the same day as Winter... were they the ones to end her? Hmmmmmmmmmm...." He rubbed his chin contemplatively.

“One was rather powerful... Did most of the work for me.” She explained, gesturing with her hands more than she probably should as she spoke, “I made it a necessity to get a piece of that stranger, as well as the pathetic boy which accompanied them.”

"Heehee! Excellent! Let's make all of them! I'm curious to see if the new procedures will be an improvement. I must make sure they are perfect!"  
With that, he pulled a switch on an enormous contraption - almost resembling a door. It crackled with static and power, and before long, a black substance congealed in the door's center - before slowly dripping into a funnel below it, which siphoned the black substance into three small vials.

Saber stared at them in awe. Of course, she knew all too well that this was the substance from which she was made. Though, unlike her own creation, this would be the first made with the DNA of a human... An actual replica, syphoned straight from man, and enhanced with... With...

“What is this substance called, again, sir?”

A gleeful grin split his face. "I like to call it...

"Nightmare fuel."

He pulled the three vials from the bottom, walking towards a section of the lab containing a row of large cylindrical containers - large enough to put a person inside.

Or grow a person inside.

"Though I'm not sure if I came up with it or They told me! Ahahaha! It's amazing!"

“Oh it certainly sounds that way, sir!” She tailed along as though his shadow, occasionally leaning to get a better view of what he’d held,

“What marvelous creations they will be! From shadow and flesh itself. Will they be strong, do you think? This new combination, sir?”

For each of three of the chambers, he inserted a jar, then a vial into a slot. As soon as the black vials were inserted, a cloud of darkness stained the liquid within, like an endlessly black ink.

He looked up at them, eyes sparkling. "I'm sure they'll be magnificent-- No, wait. I'm certain they'll be...

Triumphant."

 


	5. Scene 4: Permafrost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first appearance.

It was always so much nicer during the months where the weather was warm. Wenzel could walk to the sandwich joint and back with looser, airy clothing than in his hot jacket all the time (not his costume jacket, mind you, though that one also had potential to be rather hot). He stood for a moment outside the building, biting contently into his meal as he scanned carefully around the surroundings for that familiar, distinguishable face

And yet, they were nowhere to be found. The same spot they sat at every say was empty.

Elsewhere, Wren ran into the shadow of a building, shivering despite the… workout.

It was odd… Typically Wren was around by now- and if not to talk to, at least to spy. So far, this hadn’t changed… But, people did get busy- it was a constant of life, after all…

Wren cursed under their breath. They still haven’t been able to get a good look at whoever was attacking them. Figures that someone would, for whatever reason, try to freeze them to death in an empty street. The powers seemed… familiar…   
… But it’s not like ice abilities were that uncommon. Besides, this one was much more powerful. Or maybe more cruel, freezing all the blood that came near the source of the frost.  
They’d lose too much, the way things were going.

A sudden chill rocketed down Wenzel’s spine. An odd… Uncomfortable sensation he wasn’t quite sure he could pinpoint. He looked around a little, but there didn’t seem to be anything out of order anywhere nearby.

Which just meant he would have to go a little farther, then.  Tucking his sandwich into his pack, setting his pack to the side, and pulling from it his other jacket, what could barely be considered an outfit

Something shifted in the darkness, and by instinct, they sent out another tendril to attack.   
It froze rapidly, the ice spreading instantly to their arm. They cried out in pain, wrenching their hand away from the rest of the ice.

Wenzel had taken to the rooftops, as he often did when scoping out confrontation, only pausing when he finally could catch glints of the ensuing fight down below.

Seemed a little too familiar to him… All that ice.

Finally, a figure melted out of the shadow.   
“Are you really this weak? I’m disappointed - after all, you were the one to take me down!”  
Wren jerked their head up. That was- this is impossible, she was pronounced dead, how–?

From his distance, it took a while to identify Wren as who they were, and far longer after that, the person they caught during their first meeting.

Who had been claimed dead after she got absolutely obliterated by Wren’s odd abilities. Her body had been found. Buried. Everything to do with her should have been through.

“… Winter…? Impossible-”  
“Ah-ah, Winter is dead. I am superior. I am Permafrost.” Swirls of ice crackled on nearby surfaces.   
“And this time, I will be Triumphant.”

“Not good…” Raffle muttered, faintly, almost automatically beginning to drain her luck (as well as his) with a simple hand gesture or two, feeding it through to Incisura instead.

Think, think. There had to be something they could do. They don’t think they’d have the chance to drink her blood– at least, not easily. They glanced rapidly at their surroundings, before spotting a constructing site not too far away.  
They might not be able to attack her directly, but they doubted she could defend that well from huge metal beams falling. It was worth a shot, anyway.  
They gritted their teeth through the pain, and ran.  
Permafrost laughed. “Aww, how silly to think you’ll escape!”

At the sight of them scooting, Wenzel found enough sense to take after, long strides assisting as he jumped from one tall rooftop to the next (not a good idea in hindsight when you’ve given your luck away, he noted, almost tripping perhaps two or three times).

A construction site. Plenty of things there to use to bludgeon and shield. Smart. It was only a matter of whether the odds were far enough in their favor to allow them to.

They reached the site, immediately hiding behind some piping. Permafrost slowed down as she arrived, looking around. “You can only hide so long. Come out, come out…”

This was more dangerous terrain… Not a good place for unlucky hops and leaps. As much as he wanted to assist Wren in their current condition, Wenzel couldn’t do anything in such an unpredictable space.

He redirected the flow of luck, from them to him, quietly creeping around… If he could find something to make  _fall_ …

It was then that Wren, crouched in shadow, spotted that familiarly sad excuse for a costume. Their eyes widened in alarm.

It was sort of hard not to spot him, what with the iridescent material of the clothing, as well as the glow he was already giving off.

That glow… Was he using his power?  
This was probably not a good situation.   
But there was no time to waste. They spotted a pile of support beams off the edge of a partially constructed roof, and tried to catch Wenzel’s attention.

The flickering of movement caught the corner of his eye, and he looked down from his careful tiptoeing through the construction site only to see his ally, gesticulating towards… Well, something. It took him a little while to notice the presence of the beams.

Wren then made a series of gestures, attempting to charade luring Permafrost underneath and using their blood to push over the beams.  
How much of it was understood is another matter entirely.

Wenzel was never good at charades in his grade school years. He stood for a few puzzled seconds, eyeing down his friend, before simply beginning to clamber over to the beams. He’d think of some plan on the way

Wren squinted. Hopefully that got across.

They stepped into Permafrost’s line of sight - if they could just come this way…

It would be rather dangerous to try to bait someone with the ability to strike from a distance… Especially so quickly…

Wren prayed their luck would hold out.   
Permafrost grinned. “There you are!” They summoned large shards of ice laced with a black energy, launching them towards them.   
They dodged, leaping backwards while using tendrils of blood as extra limbs.

Oh! Oh, this must be their cue, then! True, the stranger looked rather close to being riiiight underneath those beams. Now, the real question was if he could push them.

Like a rat, he scampered over to the dangerously placed things, applying as much force as he could to the heavy things.

Permafrost looked up at the noise, confused. “What-”   
She reacted quickly, freezing the beams in place.   
But while she was distracted, Wren seized their opportunity to send out a tendril - managing to just nick her neck and retreat without getting frozen.

The powerful blast of ice caught him incredibly off guard, and he yelped some, jumping back. Not enough to fall, but nearly. Even despite, though, from the distant sound of pain from down below, it seemed that Incisura had made their mark anyhow.

Again, he transferred what luck he had to them, keeping as close as he could to ‘down low’ with such a noticeable jacket on. After all, they seemed rather hurt; could use all the luck they could get.

Incisura immediately brought the blood to their mouth and swallowed it.   
… That tasted odd.   
But they grabbed for control over Permafrost’s blood, slowing its flow and slowly starving her of oxygen. She gasped for breath.  
“It’s not fatal. Yet.”  
They glanced worriedly at the roof of frozen beams. He’s probably fine (?).  
Incisura approached Permafrost slowly. “How are you alive?”

“No time to waste…” Muttering lightly under his breath, Raffle carefully began to make his way back to some form of solid ground wider than three feet; without much luck left in his system, he really shouldn’t have been that high up there. He constantly took glances down, just to ensure Wren was doing okay.

Permafrost gave a grin lined with pointed teeth.  
 _That’s odd, she didn’t have those before-_  
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”  
She bent over, a crackling sound filling the air before icicles burst from her body, stained with crimson.

Despite the fact Wenzel’d given close to all his luck away, one’d have to count their stars and be grateful he didn’t catch sight of… That… He wasn’t used to all that terribly gooey stuff, despite how frequently he tended to watch these types of showdowns.

He put all his effort and focus into clambering down that construction site; beams and towers, and ladders. Down, down, down, until his feet finally touched the floor, and he hit the ground running to ensure his friend wasn’t hospitalized, or anything worse than.

Wren froze in shock. No, wait, they still needed answers-  
They tried to pull her blood back into her body, but the damage was too severe.   
She slumped, lifeless.

But that wasn’t the end. Before their eyes, her flesh and blood melted into a black substance that seemed to move on its own-

“Insursia-!” He still hadn’t really learned how to pronounce that, yet, “Oh goodness are you okay I felt something was wrong and so I came over but all I saw was fighting and you looked really- what is that what is that what is THAT?!”

Raffle went from concern to fear as he watched the body of the enemy just… Melt. Evaporate like that. Certainly, that wasn’t normal- even for someone… Incredibly obsessed with ice.

Wren shook themself. “I… I don’t know. She should be dead, I saw her body.”  
They stepped towards the last vestiges of the dark substance.  
“And now this. What is… happening?”

“That’s not good… That, uh…” He swallowed, uncomfortably, pulling at his jacket. Now he had a sandwich waiting for him in his pack he had no will to eat anymore, “That’s… Not… That’s not good- Don’t get close-!” Raffle just barely fought off the urge to grab onto Wren and pull them back, but managed somehow,

“Haven’t you seen the movies?? That’s how you get infected! Or something!”

Wren quickly stepped back. They seemed a little dazed. “… Hah. Ahah. Yes, you’re right. We should… we should leave. I’ll need some time to recover…”   
They paused.  
“Also, it’s Incisura.”

“In… Iner… Inc… Yeah.” He nodded, swallowing again, glancing for only a second or two at the little goopy puddle where Permafrost used to be,

“Yeah I gotta… Get home… Eat… Uh… Sit down…” He rocked nervously on his heels, licking his lips a second, “Yeah…” With every teenie pause, he took another step back, undonning and folding his jacket back up, tucking it under his arm,

“… Don’t die again-“ He called silently, not wasting another moment of time as he ducked around the alley’s corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah she's dead again


	6. Scene 5: Robert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wenzel sees a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have the entrance of another primary OC! Robert Levi Wagstaff, the edition of Wagstaff ideated by one known by various names, including Trash Lord.
> 
> Their blog for him:  
> https://tinkering-survivor.tumblr.com/
> 
> Also,  
> I forgot to mention but all of the chapter art is done by me!

A little walk or… Or something might have done him some good, part of Wenzel thought. Sort of jarring to see someone who came sorta close to killing you once- who had been proclaimed dead and buried- suddenly…  _Exist_. And attack. Only to die  _again_ quickly afterward. In not too pleasant or normal a fashion. Perhaps he should walk. Clear his mind. A couple breaths of fresh air could only do him good.

Too bad he hadn’t the sense to do that, though, carefully slipping inside the little inconspicuous store before common sense forced him to do anything other than that.

A string of bells rang as the door to the humble little store creaked open. The owner and sole employee of the establishment was nowhere to be found, but there was clear rustling noises in the back room - then a clattering, followed by hushed exclamations of frustration, and finally the crash of plastic  _something_ hitting the ground. More grumbling, and then a holler from behind the curtain separating the two rooms.

“Hold on, I’ll be right with ‘ya!”

The curtain was pulled back as an older fellow, curiously wearing sunglasses, made his way to behind the counter. He didn’t even look up at his visitor; evidently brushing the remnants of some kind of food off the front of his shirt was more pressing than paying attention to a potential customer.“Alrighty, what'cha need, stra-?OH.” His expression softened as he caught sight of Wenzel. “If it isn’t my favorite little loiterer. What’s up, kid?”

He shrugged, finding the nearest ledge to prop himself up against as he began to indulge in his salted, toasted, bacon accented turkey swiss on rye,

“Oh, nothing much sir, I’m sure you can imagine. The usual, is all.” He wasn’t even sure if his hands had stopped shaking or not, but at the very least he could string his voice along as though he were just as casual as any other pedestrian on this lovely Tuesday (Tuesday? Wednesday…? T… Thursday?) afternoon, and not someone who had just seen a woman declared dead melt into strange, uncomfortable black goo,

“You’ve got a bull back there, or something? Sounded like a tussle.”

Rob took a seat himself behind the counter. He eyed the sandwich longingly, bet refrained from asking for a share; if his “work clothes” were any indicator, Wenzel didn’t have much cash to his name and he didn’t want to take what little he had.

“Mm-hmm. 'The usual’.” He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms behind his back as he reclined back. If it weren’t for his dark aviators Wenzel would’ve caught an exaggerated wink. “Y'know, if you’re gonna pal around with that Insecura person you oughta bring 'em by sometime. If you’re both gonna be out there getting your asses kicked it’d be nice to know who I’ve gotta put feelers out for if something goes sideways.”

At the inquiry his whole demeanor changed, relaxed posture peeling away as his posture straightened up. “Well uh, you  _kinda_ caught me in the middle of… ” He hastily closed his jacket to hide the spot on the front of his shirt. “-But that’s enough about my day! How’d 'the usual’ go?”

Wenzel was always very…  _Not good_  at being casual. Lying, maybe, but not being casual. His throat improperly closed around his salted, toasted, bacon accented turkey swiss on rye, and he coughed a few times, before taking a second to compose himself. His face twisted from surprise and fell straight to unamusement, but he still… Didn’t stop eating,

“We didn’t get our asses  _kicked_ , sir. And nothing’s going any which way- it’s not sideways, it’s very straight.“ He paused to chuckle, "Well, maybe not, but we did good, we did a good job, and last I checked you weren’t there so you shouldn’t… Know anything about that in the first place-“ Another bite. He still didn’t feel good at all. Damn him and his stubbornness, he guessed,

“And if you want to know we did great. We solved the case and saved the day, it was great, we did very,  _well_ , sir.” For the circumstances.

Rob leaned against the counter, propped up on his elbows, as Wenzel went about defending himself and his friend. Mild concern settled over him, but for the most part he looked rather relaxed. "C'mon, kid, don’t be like that. Getting kicked around isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Some folks even think that’s part of the fun.” He shook his head as he said that last part. “Never understood that myself, but if you’re gonna get beat up on a regular basis you might as well have fun with it I guess. ᶜᵃˡᵐ ᵈᵒʷⁿ, ʸᵒᵘ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵍᵒᵗᵗᵃ ᶦⁿʰᵃˡᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ.”

“'Case’? Now, that sounds interesting,” he chirped, settling into his seat. “Go on, don’t leave me hanging; it’s been a while since I’ve been part of any kind of caper.”

“The case…” He echoed, finally forcing himself to slow, folding up his lunch and placing it on his lap,

“Yes… Yes, our case, okay. So you’ve seen the news, haven’t you? The news? A few weeks ago? The news? Because I barely watch the news, right, but it was on, so I sat through it for a little while-” He had a god awful habit of gesticulating every time he spoke too long. He looked more like a dragonslayer recounting his most recent quest than someone recalling any prior events,

“There was this one villain recently, Snow, or Winter, or something like that. And the news, right? The news said she’d been… Permanently apprehended. Found her body and stuck it in the ground and everything-” and then he added on, far quieter, “ _And I’d probably care a little more if she didn’t almost skewer me in the heart-”_

“I work with televisions and the like all day; you think I’d wanna plop down in front of one at the end of the day?”

He listened intently to Wenzel’s accounts of recent events, humming along to more or less express how he felt about each point without needing to interrupt. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone came back from the dead,” he remarked when Wenzel was through. “That’s just how things seem to go out there. If this is the first time you’ve dealt with that I guess that explains why you’re shaking like a leaf over there.” He thought he heard the kid mumble something, but figured it wasn’t too important. “Was there anything…  _different_ about this 'Winter’ gal after she came back?”

_“I’m not shaking like a leaf._..” He muttered, quietly, examining his shaking hands with scorn,

“But that’s not the point- not the point. So we ran into her again, right? She was absolutely assaulting my new pal, so I came through and saved the day like a champ, for the most part. I figured Incisura had things taken care of, so I began to make my way down from the construction site- don’t ask why I was up there it’s fine- and then… I get down to the ground level and I…”

He hesitated, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to find the best phrasing of words with which to continue,

“She… Winter- or… She gave herself some dumb new name, I think; Permafrost, or something… She… She had  _run herself through_. Just like that. She was dying on her own weapon- but not just that, she… She was  _melting_. She just sat there on the ground and turned into a bubbling…  _Black_ puddle… No gore or anything, but I’ve never seen anything like it… Never  _felt_ anything like it- have you?”

Rob once again leaned back against the wall, this time deep in thought instead of relaxation as evidenced by his knitted brows and pursed lips. “So,” he began after a minute or two, “You’re saying she attacked you,  _failed_ , and then  _killed_ herself when she lost the upper hand? Hmm… My best guess would be an of L.M.D. of some kind - though I haven’t seen any that melt into black goo before.” He paused, rubbing his chin. “That might explain why she self-destructed, but generally L.M.D.s don’t name themselves…”

He suddenly turned back to Wenzel. “Say, did either of you think to take a sample of that stuff? It’s not exactly  _my_ style, but if either of you knows someone who does lab work that might narrow down what that gunk was. Tracking where something so distinct came from might help narrow down who made her.”

“A  _sample_ , sir?” Sure, true, the man didn’t quite see the occurrence first person. Didn’t get a chance to feel the… Discomfort that came with approaching such a terrible substance. Still, though, it took him quite aback,

“What would I touch it with? My hands? I… Not only did that stuff look like it’d melt clean through my hand if i so much as poked it, but I don’t know what it is… What it could do, y'know? It didn’t feel right to even be near, let alone touch… I don’t even know if it’s still there… Or if it, like… Melted into the floor or something…”

“Of course you don’t touch weird goo with your bare hands!” he suddenly exclaimed, shooting forward in his seat and slamming his hands onto the counter. “I know somebody who got turned into a sludge monster like that! He got better, but you wanna turn into a sludge monster? Or worse? No! You’ve gotta use a test tube or something.”

He eased up a bit. “… Did it seriously melt into the floor?”

The loud sound clearly caught the kid by surprise, and almost instinctively his hands flew up to around the same height as his head and face. To protect himself, perhaps? Wasn’t quite sure. Wasn’t as though he’d do anything, or at least not to his knowledge. What he was certain of, though, is that not just his hands had been shaking now.

He swallowed before speaking, mouth suddenly a little dryer than he would like it to be,

“ _N-no sir… N… No I don’t wanna be sludge- I’m sorry, sir…”_

Damn it. He was just trying to make a point; he hadn’t meant to scare the kid. Now it looked like he was so scared he might not even remember. He sighed and slumped over on the counter a little, trying to look annoyed - though it was at least a little obvious he felt pretty guilty over frightening Wenzel.

“Look, kid, as long as you don’t go around poking at weird stuff you’ll be fine, okay? Just didn’t want to catch some news that something happened to 'ya that could’ve been avoided, y'know?”

He thought about himself as sludge for a little while. Creeping along the floor like a slug, being generally mindless and discomforting. He didn’t quite like to think about that. He preferred being not-sludge, and sentient, and general the lanky, fleshy kid he was. However, the only thing he could pass down from his head to his lips is another gentle echo of ‘sludge monster…’ before his phone gave a loud buzz.

The screen lit up with a notification - it was from Wren.  
 _Wenzel. Are you feeling alright?_

Honestly, looked like he could have jumped right out of his skin, but fumbled for it just to take a quick sort of glance at who would even decide to talk to him in the first place… Only to find Wren’s name. He tapped but a quick response before one could object,

_Just shaken, still, but not hurt or anything. You?_

The man at the counter was also startled by the sudden noise. If one had been paying attention they might’ve noticed a quick static charge go through his hair. He quickly recomposed himself, grumbling as he smoothed his hair back down, before addressing the matter.

“Hey, that’s that li'l friend of yours, right? Tell 'em I said 'hi’ and 'thanks for helping keep your butt safe’.” He briefly looked away, taking his turn to mumble to himself. 'ᵏⁿᵒʷ, ᴵ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ᵒᵘᵍʰᵗᵃ ᵍᵉᵗ ᵐʸˢᵉˡᶠ ᵃⁿᵒᵗʰᵉʳ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ; ᵃᶜᶜᶦᵈᵉⁿᵗᵃˡˡʸ ᶠʳᶦᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ˡᵃˢᵗ ᵒⁿᵉ… -Anyways,“ he piped up after turning back to Wenzel, "I apologize in advance for being nosy, but is that about anything I can know?”

He opened his mouth to grant the man a response, before the phone buzzed again in his hands, and he looked down.

The “…” to indicate that Wren was typing started and stopped a few times.  
 _… I’ve been feeling. Strange. Maybe you were right about that goo._

In an instant color was drained from his face, and he furiously began typing yet again, beginning to pace back and forth, muttering under his breath,

_I told you not to touch that stuff I told you! What did you even do, taste it?! Aren’t you a doctor can’t you just go get some medicine juice or something??_

He licked his lips, finally looking back up at Rob again,

“ _Okay_ , so don’t freak out, but my friend… Likes to put things in their mouth sometimes, and I thi-”

“ _OH, FOR THE LOVE OF- **SERIOUSLY**?!_” he barked, jumping to his feet and suddenly not caring if he terrified Wenzel. “ _RULE NUMBER ONE: **DON’T TOUCH THE WEIRD GOO**  - LET ALONE  **EAT** THE WEIRD GOO!_”

He began pacing, infuriation giving way to panic. "Oh man, this is bad -  _really_ bad.” He stopped in his tracks and turned on his heel to face Wenzel. “ _Please_ tell me you were talking about something else - or that they’re not turning into some kind of mutant or something!”

“Listen-  _listen_! They drink like, blood? I think? That’s how they make their crazy swwwshswooshbsswwwrr powers work, right? So maybe they didn’t eat the  _goo_ , but if they tasted the blood it could have also been bad news- but maybe not as bad! Maybe not as b-”

His phone buzzed again, _I didn’t eat the goo! But I did take some of her blood and it tasted… funky_.

_… Does that count? This is quite concerning. And there might have been some vapors, so I was concerned that you might feeling this… this. - I don’t know how to describe it - as well.  
Perhaps I’ll try to sleep it off._

And Wenzel was back to it again like a moth to flame, typing in the same rushed manner he had been previously,

_GET TO A DOCTOR DON’T GO TO SLEEP THAT’S HOW PEOPLE DIE IN THE MOVIES. GO TO THE DOCTOR OR SOMETHING JUST DON’T BE AN IDIOT AND SLEEP. I’m FINE because I don’t drink strangers’ blood but YOU’RE probably NOT OKAY!!!_

“Oh my God, you found a vampire, didn’t you? Have you ever seen-?” Suddenly aware he was starting to get off-topic Rob stopped himself right there. “Y'know what? Doesn’t matter.”

“If you gotta run go ahead. I’ll check in with some acquaintances in the meantime - see if I can dig up some dirt on these weird L.M.D.s.”

A series of notifications popped up on Wenzel’s phone.

_You know I AM a doctor, right?_  
And I don’t think this is very…. precedented.  
I doubt anyone I know is an expert in the field.   
Anyways. I’m very tired. Maybe dissociating a bit.   
Things don’t feel real right now…

“Oh god oh god oh god-” Wenzel swallowed, which was rather difficult what with the giant lump stuck in it, shoving his phone in his pocket with little delay,

“I have to go sir I have to go- my friend doesn’t look too good… I…” He nervously licked his lips, “I gotta go-!” He dashed towards the door for a moment, before halting, as though he forgot something critical. He fished in his other pocket, producing a twenty and a couple of cents from his pocket,

_“That’s for listening to my dumb word vomit no take backs bye-!”_

The older gentleman didn’t say a word as Wenzel frantically made his way out of the store, only nodding in understanding. When the boy left he quietly locked the door and flipped the sign in the window to its “closed” position before slipping into the back room once more.

 


	7. Scene 6: Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exposure to nightmare fuel will do that to you.

Wren was sitting at their couch, staring blankly at the wall. Their phone was held loosely in their hand, hanging off the edge of the couch. The screen darkened at another tap.  
They felt… detached. Tired. The shadows seemed to dance at one moment, and be perfectly normal at another.   
They should just… sleep….

“Wren??” Wenzel was only semi-confident in the fact that he actually had the right address (despite literally having a map in front of him on his phone, he was never good with direction), but he certainly pounded on the door as though he were the most confident man in the world,

“Wren you better be alive in there! Don’t make me find a half open window!”

Something pressed at the corner of Wren’s awareness, but…   
The phone slipped out of their hand, clattering to the floor as they slumped to the side.

“WREN! C’MON OPEN UP! DON’T MAKE ME CALL THE COPS I DON’T LIKE THEM TOO MUCH-!” He sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he’d like it to be…

Just as he threatened, he began looking for anything to help him ‘break in’ (it’s not breaking in if it’s a medical emergency)

  
⥎

Whispers.

_.̴͓̇.̷̢͋.̶͇̈́_

It was dark. Endless.

_̷̢̛-̶̪̊n̷̛͔.̶̳̆.̵̱̄.̷̟͌.̷̹͠_

But… not empty.

_̴̠͠W̸̤̽r̸͇̆ḙ̷̇ṉ̶.̵̗̅.̵̮̆.̶̟͗ ̷͍̉W̶̊͜r̸̥̈́a̴̛͇ị̷͝t̴̗̏h̷̻͝.̴̤̑.̷̨̽.̷͛ͅ_

They jerked in their sleep.

_̸̱͌T̸͎̊h̵̘̕e̵̯̎ ̵̞͘s̵̪̓h̶̯̚a̸͖̍d̷͍͒ő̶̠w̴̒ͅs̶̫ ̶̜͋i̸͙͘ń̵̯v̶̼́i̵̟̽t̸̥ẽ̷͜ ̸͙̄y̷̳o̴͝u._

_…Dance for us._

⥎

Wenzel waltzed around the house a moment, looking for any way to get…  _In_. It wasn’t as though he was skilled in breaking and entering- that was more up a villain’s alley, and he… Could barely be considered some sort of a hero.

He rapped on the windows, pulling on each one in an attempt to find one that was loose or unlocked.

One was, indeed - it just so happened to be one in view of the living room.  
Wren was lying on their side, splayed on the couch. Their hair hid their face, but their fingers seemed to be twitching.

“ _I even said- I even said, ‘Wren you idiot don’t go to sleep’. I take ten minutes to go over there and what else are they doing-_ ” He fumbled with the window for a little bit, slipping his body in little by little and just hoping no one was around to call any sort of security

They rolled over a bit, hair slipping away from their face. Their eyes were scrunched up, as if they were in pain - but they made no sound.

“Wren-!” Wenzel fumbled a little as he hit the floor (though if anyone were to ask he’s simply explain with confidence he took a skilled roll), but pulled himself back onto his feet with no delay, clapping a few times in the poor fool’s ear,

“Wren, c'mon. Wake up.” Every syllable punctuated with yet another clap.

One moment, Wren was prone. The next, they had Wenzel’s wrists gripped tightly in their hands, wide eyes locked onto his face.

“ _Woah jeez_ -!” He flinched almost automatically, trying to wriggle his hands free from their grip,

“C'mon, Wren, it’s just me-! I  _told_ you not to sleep didn’t I? Look at you- you’re a mess!”

Their grip loosened slightly, and they blinked. The tension bled from their shoulders slowly, awareness coming back to them piece by piece.

“Wenzel…? I…” Their eyes flicked to their hands and they jerked back, letting go immediately. “Ack! I’m- sorry-”

“Yes, its Wenzel.” He finally wormed his wrist away, rubbing it for a second or so,

“And what did I tell you, huh? I said not to fall asleep,  _aaand_ you did. You did fall asleep. You could have gotten possessed or something-! Or turned into sludge!”

Wren grimaced. “It was strange, alright? I might even argue that I was under the influence of whatever that stuff was. I couldn’t seem to stop myself.”  
They rubbed absently at their chest. “And I feel like… I feel like I saw something. Heard something. Just now. When I was asleep.”

“Yeah…” Wenzel looked them up and down suspiciously, as though he’d  _find_ anything of notice of concern on his person,

“Yeah you need to go to the doc or something on that.”

Wren pouted petulantly. “I am a doctor! Who would I even go to? Do  _you_ know someone that might know about this?”

“You can’t doctor  _yourself_ , that’s not how doctors  _work_.” He pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation,

“I mean… I might know a guy who knows a guy?”

“Hmmrrgghhhhh….” They put a hand on their head. “I guess I’m not really in much of a place to argue.”

They sighed. “Alright,  _fine_. Who’s this person who you know knows?”  
Wenzel gestured to the couch again, pushing Wren back a little,

“At least make yourself a little comfortable; I could get you some water or something. ‘V got half a sandwich on me. If we’re gonna chat you might as well stay stable- you’ve got aspirin?”

They sunk into the cushions of the couch. “Ah… yes. I’m not very hungry, don’t worry about that. I’ve got water in that filter and aspirin in the cabinet- I can go grab it-”

Wenzel could be heard from the other room, fumbling around with glasses and such while he tried to make himself at least somewhat useful,

“So, uh, you know that neat little electronic repair place? Cool little joint not too far away from the bus station, ever took a peek in it before?”

Wren had already taken a bite out of the sandwich. “Mmm. Prh'ps?” They hummed thoughtfully, swallowing before they continued. “I tend to use modern technology. But I think I’ve passed by a few times. Is the person you know there?”

“Yeah. He’s a real friendly sort once you get passed all the sorta gruffness he sprinkles about just a little. Doesn’t really get a lot of business, so I don’t really know what he does half the time, but I’ve reason to believe he’s got maybe a couple of connections. You know how those non talkative folk are; they know all sorts of things.”

Wren snorted. “Sprinkles. And connections, huh? I suppose it’s worth a shot. Do you trust him?” They peered at Wenzel, one eyebrow raised as they took another large bite of the sandwich.

“I don’t talk to folks I don’t trust.” He shrugged, leaning over to steal a piece of cheese hanging a little off the edge of the bread. After all, it was originally his sandwich,

“Once you really get to know him, you sorta can’t help but trust him. Not that he looks trustworthy- he’s just not not a good liar, and he knows it.”

Wren’s eyes followed the piece of cheese, expression revealing nothing, before they gave a soft laugh. “Heh. Sounds like an interesting guy.” They started to get up, “Shall we go now, or-”

“Are you in any  _condition_ to go now? I mean look at yourself.” He gestured vaguely at Wren’s entire person, “You freaked out when I tried to wake you up. Not to mention you were twitching all over the place like some poor piece of roadkill-”

They sat back down. “Ngh.” They looked like the admission pained them.  
Their eyes flicked to Wenzel, “and you’re sure you haven’t felt anything?”

“No, because I’m not the one who eats blood and sticks their whole nose in suspicious black goop.”

“Ughhhhhh.” They flopped an arm over their eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like it! And Winter! She should have been dead! I wanted to know what was going on with all that gunk.”

“We don’t even know what the stuff is yet, and not to mention how that freaky lady just melted into it all of a sudden… And those bad sensations it was giving off was just  _terrible_.” He could have shuddered, but refrained,

“Whatever it is, it’s bad news. With a capital B and an N.”

Wren was silent for a moment. “When… when I was asleep. The voices I heard. I… it’s not clear, and it evades the conscious grasp of my mind.” They lifted their arm. “But it felt like… They were calling to me.” They looked towards Wenzel. “Perhaps… not unrelated.”

“Calling to you…” his brows furrowed, and he tugged nervously on his bottom lip with his teeth,

“I… I’d say that’s not good… But most assuredly not unrelated… Otherwise you’d seriously need to see a doctor.”

They laughed nervously. “Ah, goodness! It’s like this gunk is made to drive you insane!”

“I certainly hope not…” He swallowed, dryly, “Imagine how…  _Dangerous_  that sorta thing could be for the city.”

“… That’s true.” Their eyes narrowed. “I must… investigate… later…” They muttered under their breath.

“Yeah, you… You’re  _really_ not looking so hot…” He suddenly stood up, picking at one of his nails,

“Lets, uh… Tell you what, huh? As much as I’d love to chill here and make sure you don’t kill yourself, I’ve gotta go to work in like…” He checked his phone (which was dying again, he noted), “Thirty? Forty minutes? So here’s what we’ll do, huh? Since you don’t look to be in any condition to do  _anything_ whatsoever, you can just chill here and nap. But set like, an alarm on your phone for every hour. That way, if something happens, you won’t be sitting around dying or hearing any more whispers, or whatever fever dream stuff happens then-”

Wren gave another snort. “Alright, alright, you mother hen. I can take care of myself, don’t worry. I’ll do as you say.” They set their alarm on their phone to every hour. “Now, go do your thing. Don’t let me keep you.” They waved a hand at him.

He shoved his phone in his pocket, taking one look back at his accident prone friend,

“Don’t die. If you start to, call like, the police or something? Or me? Even though I’ll be at work I probably won’t be able to come- but then at least I can call the police-”

“I will, I will! Go do your work. Be a responsible citizen. I will be resting. Oh, and tell me whenever you want me to meet that electronics guy.”

“I’ll text you-!” He called back, hopping carefully through the window again (it was easier than unlocking the door- and besides, Wren’d have to get  _up_ to lock it again). He’d never think, of all his friends,  _he’d_ be one of the most responsible.

Wren watched him go, before flopping back on the sofa.  
Well. Into darkness, then.


End file.
